Southport families 'extremely alarmed' boy who wanted to copy stabbings avoided prison

The families of the three girls killed in the Southport stabbings say they are "extremely alarmed" that a teenager who wanted to copy the attack was not imprisoned.

A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named because of his age, was sentenced last week to a three-year youth rehabilitation and criminal behaviour order. The teenager told police he wanted to emulate Axel Rudakubana, who killed Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, during a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class during the summer holidays in July 2024.

At Liverpool Crown Court on 5 March, the youngster avoided a custodial sentence after he pleaded guilty to four counts of possessing information likely to be useful to a person planning or committing an act of terrorism. Read more: What we've learned from the Southport Inquiry On Tuesday, the families of the three girls said via their legal team, that "it is unimaginable to be reading about circumstances so painfully similar" to the Southport stabbings.

The statement added: "Elsie, Bebe and Alice were failed at every possible point - failed by the very professionals and agencies who should have protected them. "Had they acted decisively, our children would still be alive.

"Yet we now face the reality that a 17‑year‑old boy has admitted these offences, expressed ideologies aligned with AR - and still walks free. "This is about repeated failures by agencies and professionals who knew better, and still did nothing.

Our only hope through the inquiry was that no other families would have to endure what we have. "But, the events relating to this teenager give us real concerns that changes that we were told have occurred, appear to fail again." Teenager wanted to 're-enact Axel' The 17-year-old told police last August that he wanted to "re-enact Axel.